Building block



A. G. HATCH.

BUILDING BLOCK.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 14.1921.

Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

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PATENT ()FFICE.

ARTHUR G. HATCH, 0F DULUTH, MINNESOTA.

BUILDING BLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented Mar. 8, 1922.

Application filed January 14, 1921.' Serial No. 437,272.

To all whom it may concern:

I Be it known that I, ARTHUR G. HATCH, a citizen. of the United States,residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Building Blocks, ofwhich the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to a new and improved building block, and morespecifically to a block of special form adapted to give a maximum ofstrength with a minimum of material. I

This block is particularly adapted for concrete construction. As is wellknown, concrete and similar block materials have an excess of crushingstrength over that required in general building construction. Thelimiting feature in the thickness of concrete walls ordinarily consistsin the necessity for lateral stability, rather than in the abilit tocarry the necessary load. It is there ore highly desirable, from thestandpoint of the economical use of the material, that the wall beprovided with proper intermediate spaces, rather than being solid.Moreover, a hollow wall has great advantages, in that the air space actsas a nonconductor of heat, and also tends to prevent passage of moistureinwardly through the wall. Since the walls vary in height, it is highlydesirable that standard blocks for wall construction be'adapted for usein walls of varying thickness, in order that the thickness may becommensurate with the lateral stability necessary for the height.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a building blockwhich may be readily cast of concrete or similar material, and whichaffords a maximum of strength with a minimum volume of material.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a block which isparticularly suitable for casting in large quantities, and which isreadily removable from the form. It is an additional object to provide ablock which is adapted for use in walls of varying thickness. Other andfurther objects will appear as the description proceeds.

I have illustrated a preferred form of my.

invention in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a facevlew of the block, the 1nterior construction being indicated in dottedlines Figure 2 is a top view of the block;

Figure 3 is a rear view of the block; A

Figure 4 is a section taken on line 44 of Figure 3; and,

Figure 5 is a section taken on line 5-5 of Figure 3.

The block may be said to consist of a substantially flat face portion 6,having end flanges and upper and lower flanges 8, and having thetransverse wall 9 joining the upper and lower flanges, the transversewall being of less height than the side flanges. The peripheral flangesform a continuous peripheral wall of uniform height. The end flanges 7,as shown, have an arcuate inner surface 7. arc lies substantially at thepoint 10 in Figure 4; or, in other words, ,at substantially the junctionof the plane face and the peripheral edge. This form of inner facerenders the end flange 7 quite heavy, and

adapted to take considerable coinpression' load. This form of flangealso has an im portant advantage in assisting the ready removal of theblock from the mold, as is more fully escribed in my copendingapplication Serial N 0. 437,273, filed on even date herewit 11 As bestshown in Figure .5, the upper and lower walls 8 have flat inner facesand are thickest at their point of junction with the plane face portionof the block." When theblock is placed in the wall, these flanges 8 actsubstantially as cantilevers, transmitting the load which they receiveto the plane face portion of the block. The transverse wall 9 joiningthe two flanges 8 aids materially in supporting the block, and theflange, as well as its cantilever action, acts as a beam between the endflanges 7 and the transverse wall 9. The lengthofthespanofthesesideflanges is so short, the flanges are so thick, and the loads receivedrelatively so small, that the material may readily take care of anysmall tensile stresses involved.

As described in my copending application Serial No. 437,274, filed oneven date herewith, this form of block is particularly susceptible ofuse in walls of varying thickness, it being possible to use one row ofblocks with flat slabs againstthe rear faces, or to use two rows ofblocks with their inner faces toward each other. Various othercombinations affording thicker walls may be also used.

I provide grooves 11 which extend around the peripheral wall of theblock. These The center of curvature of this grooves, as shown, aresemi-circular in cross section and extend parallel to the plane face ofthe block. These grooves may simply aid in bonding the blocks to themortar Which is to be placed between adjacent blocks, or they mayserveto form between co-acting blocks convenient channels for placingrein-' forcing bars or members adapted to givethe completed walladditional lateral or vertical strength particularly as regards tensilestresses.

The block as shown is extremely simple in design, is very efficient asregards its utilization of the strength of the material, and affords avery great saving in material over a solid block of the same externaldlmensions. As has been pointed out, the strength of this block isadequate for all normal uses and its lateral stability is much greaterthan that of a solid block comprising the same amount of concrete.Moreover, the use of lighter bloc-ks renders the entire wall muchlighter and hence reduces the load which need be carried by the lowercourses of block.

should not be beyond or below the block surface since in thatcaserotation of the block would carry portions thereof outside of thespace the block occupies when fiat in the mold. This is tobe avoided inorder e way modifying the utility or function of my particular blockstructure.

I claim:

r 1. A building block having a substantially plane face, the oppositeface carrying flanges having their outer faces formed upon a smoothconvex curve, the locus of the center of curvature being an areacomprising and bounded by the substantially plane face and a planeerected perpendicular thereto at the adjacent edge of the block.

2. A building block having a substantially plane face, the opposite facecarrying convex eylindric flanges adjacent opposite edges of the block,the axis of the cylindric of the flanges being parallel to the planeface and parallel to the adjacent edge of the block.

3. A building block having a substantially plane face, the opposite facecarrying a peripheral wall, the inner surface of the portions of theperipheral wall adjacent opposite edges of the block being formed'upon'the are of a circle, the center of curvature being located approximatelyat the adjacent peripheral edge of the plane face of the block.

Signed at Duluth, Minnesota, this 6th day of January, 1921.

\ ARTHUR G. I IATOH.

